Go on a Journey...

I'm Karen Mullen. I love God, my family, photography, writing, teaching and people. I lead Northwest Photo Journeys, where I guide photo tours to magical places around the Pacific Northwest, teaching photography along the way. I teach photography, Lightroom, Photoshop and Photoshop Elements at Skagit Valley College and Whatcom Community College, as well as at my studio. Of course, I also take photographs, selling my landscapes as interior decor.

PHOTO JOURNEY RAVES

I lead Northwest Photo Journeys, taking small groups on tours of wild and wonderful places to visit in the Pacific Northwest. We caravan around to great photo locations, stay at someplace comfy, eat together and learn together.
When there's time, we play with our work on Photoshop or Lightroom. Everyone learns a lot and has a lot of fun along the way.

I lead Northwest Photo Journeys, taking small groups on tours of wild and wonderful places to visit in the Pacific Northwest. We caravan around to great photo locations, stay at someplace comfy, eat together and learn together.

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Karen Mullen began taking photographs while an exchange student in Germany. She studied photography and writing at the University of Missouri, receiving a Bachelor of Journalism. Karen and Leo married in 1983. An early pregnancy changed Karen's career plans: she intended to work for a newspaper, as Leo did, but had a firm commitment to staying home with her children. She freelanced for several years, then switched to stock photography, where her work was represented by a stock photo agency. In 1997, Leo encouraged Karen to form a portrait photography business. She immersed herself in education provided by the Professional Photographers of America and the Professional Photographers of Washington. From a background of journalistic photography, Karen learned to incorporate great poses with great moments. In 1999 Karen trained in Photoshop, and entered the world of digital photography. Karen's husband Leo died of a heart attack in 2000, at the age of 41. She is grateful to both Leo and God for allowing her to have 3 years of portrait photography education behind her before she was compelled to grow a small business into a full-time job. Critical to the story, Karen was 3 months pregnant when Leo died. Today, Leo Jr. is 18 years old. With the support of her kids, Karen juggles photography, teaching, leading photo tours, writing and grand parenting. Ben, Karen's 35-year-old son, graduated from Western Washington University in biology. He lives in Bellingham. Lainie, Karen's 33-year-old daughter, has a graduate degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, and lives with her husband Nathaniel in Bellingham. Gabriel, Karen's 29-year-old son, graduated from WWU in linguistics and lives in Bellingham. Leo will soon begin at Western and enjoys skiing and travel. In May 2009, Karen passed both the image review and the PPA certification exam to become one of only 17 certified professional photographers in Washington. In 2011, Karen received her Fellowship of Photography degree from the Professional Photographers of Washington, for education, service and photo competition. In 2011, Karen began teaching photography at Skagit Valley College, and in 2012 she began teaching at Whatcom Community College and offering private lessons. In 2013, Karen began leading photo tours around Washington State, launching Northwest Photo Journeys. Karen is currently writing a memoir of her life with Leo Sr., and is involved in ministry through Cornwall Church, mentoring women and leading grief support.